Thursday, September 28, 2006

In Which Her Bad Mother Faces Total Defeat

I haven't done the math yet, but I'm pretty certain that about one-quarter of the posts on this blog are about me being sick, WonderBaby being sick, or the both of us being sick and/or about how the Husband never seems to get sick and the cosmic injustice of the fact that he gets to avoid both being sick and doing the laundry.

So, if you are sick of reading about how much it sucks to be sick, maybe skip this particular post.

Our household seems to have become a very efficient virus transmission facility. WonderBaby acquires a nasty bug from somewhere - from, oh, say, licking another baby at the park or at playgroup - and for a very brief period of time becomes snotty and sniffly and cranky and then passes it on to me. I become snotty and sniffly and cranky and take every conceivable measure to avoid passing the virus back to WonderBaby but always manage to fail, so that at the precise moment I am starting to feel a little bit better, WonderBaby gets snotty and cranky again and so on and so forth.This has being going on for about a week now, and I am, to say the least, sick and tired of it.

It would be easier to bear were it not for the fact that WonderBaby is not slowed down by the common cold. WonderBaby, it seems, is not slowed down by anything. A cold makes her snottier and crankier, but it does not make her more inclined to sleep during the day, nor does it impede her ability to move about at high speeds. She thrashes about the house, toddling and climbing and grabbing and pulling, with her usual force and little bit of Bad Temper thrown in for flair. And leaving a slug-like trail of snot behind her as she goes.

(I can, at least, thank the gods that I no longer face the grim task of sucking the snot out for her. She does just fine on her own now, thank you very much.)

What I had been hoping for, today, was a tranquil, if sniffly, afternoon of the kind that I used to spend as a child when confined to bed with a bad cold: snugly wrapped in blankets, warm drinks and digestive biscuits at hand, cathode rays beaming Family Feud from the television set into an otherwise darkened room. That kind of afternoon, adapted for me and WonderBaby, is what I wanted: the two of us, curled up together on the sofa, tea for me, a bottle for her, and old episodes of the Muppet Show running on DVD. Cozy and happy, our sniffles an afterthought.

What we have instead is me and WonderBaby, both in pajamas at 3 in the afternoon, neither of us cozy, only one of us happy. Me bleary-eyed and miserable and huddled on the floor in a blanket, damp tissues shoved down the front of my pajama top; WonderBaby toddling about in circles, emitting high-pitched shrieks and hoots in celebration of having sucessfully jammed a two-headed doll into the DVD carousel, slowing down only to wipe snotty nose on ultrasuede ottoman. It's just one junkie and a pool of vomit away from looking like a scene from Trainspotting.

(Oh, wait! THERE'S the pool of vomit!)

(You think I'm making that up? It's not exactly vomit - more like goopy spit-up - but still. I'd take a picture, but this blog is just not that raw.)

I'm this close to just chugging the Nyquil and spending the rest of the afternoon in a Dextromethorpan fog, just to make the picture complete...

... except that I fear that she would overpower me in my incapacitated state and take over rule of the household.

i feel your pain.my kids were NEVER the cuddle and sleep when sick type.and i hated everyone who had kids that would sleep for 24 hours straight when sick. mine would sleep less. and be more active. *hugs*

Nothing worse than being sick...with kids. My hubby was deathly ill with bronchitis when I had my baby a few months ago. I should know. I gave it to him. Kinda took a bit of the sting out of labor when everyone is tending to your death-bed husband....

You poor thing. Give in to the Nyquil.My son's energy is not affected at all by being sick either.In fact, once he was "lethargic" and just sat still and cuddled with me for an hour. I was so freaked out I called my doctor. She was so shocked at him not being active that she made me take him to sick kids. (he had an ear infection)So, I hear ya.I love the activity but not when I'm sick or tired or both. Hang in there - put up all the baby gates and let her go crazy! Or call a babysitter and sleep.

o.m.g. I really do hope you feel better soon. I can't believe the Muppets didn't work. Wait, I actually know WB. I knew she was strong willed but can't she just give momma a break?

I've been trying to read this post for a while now but my in-laws showed up nice and early and I've been entertaining (gah!). I'm sending healing vibes your way so if I don't hear anything in the next few days, I'll send for help.

I have spent so many days in exactly the same state. Poor you. I hope you get better soon. The first year of their life always seems to be the most intense for colds and such. I think more so for the Mum, because your immune system is depressed, lack of sleep, hormone warzone all that.Still, the photos of her, and the mental image of you huddled on the floor make me laugh. Sorry.

Why am I laughing? Because when my almost 17 month old has a cold, he's exactly the same! Lots of energy, climber-extraordinaire, dancing maniac.... He only drives us nuts due to the actual illness at night when he can't breathe.

Ugh, it's the worst, being sick and having to look after someone else while no one looks after you.

And WonderClimber pics are cracking me up. I remember the day Pumpkinpie scaled the couhc, went over the arm and stood proudly on the steamer trunk in the corner - right next to the windows. We bought shutters the next day.

We're feeling your pain here too, HBM. The wife and the baby have alternated being sick for the past two weeks. Somehow I've been lucky enough to avoid it but I get the feeling that my luck's about to run out. Hope everyone at home feels better soon!

Wait, wait-- was I upset that my son's Sensory Integration Disorder makes him freak out at the prospect of losing his balance, which in turn makes him very tentative about climbing?

Was I actually planning a desensitization campaign involving many trips to the enormous rope bridge at the playground in the botanical gardens down in the city?

What was I thinking?

My Little Dude, you are just fine the way you are. Really.

What's that? You say you saw pictures of that baby half your age climbing onto the back of a chair and now you think that maybe you want to try mastering this climbing deal after all just so the other babies don't make fun of you?

Oh my god Wonderbaby has climbed on the back of a chair. That girl is fiesty. And so insatiably cute. Too bad there wasn't an off switch though for days when mama just needs to get well. Hope you feel better soon my friend.

E and I already went through our seasonal sinus issues. Like mother like daughter I suppose. It amazes me that through the sneezes, coughs, and raspy throats our little ones can still run circles around us with a smile on their face.

Get well soon!

(Thank goodness E isn't looking at these pics of Wonderbaby. I don't need her learning how to climb our sofas and chairs just yet!)

I feel you, sister. I'm outnumbered even when well. When I'm sick, I wave the universal white flag and roll around after my active toddler while yelling commands to the twins (HELP ME STOP YOUR SISTER FROM EATING THOSE NAILS!).

Sick new walkers are the worst... I think the absolutely lowest parental point is being sick ourselves and dreaming of the day when we'll actually be able to REST while managing the headache/sniffles.

It certainly is not fair that the adults seem to be hit harder by the same viruses that don't seem to affect the kids. While you are throwing back Nyquil, shoot Wonderbaby up with high doses of Benadryl.

Dude, break out the drugs. You know if I could be there I would, but inlaws...anyway, I think its time to get heavily medicated. You had to suffer sickness enough when you were breastfeeding, that's done. Drugs!

Here is a small ray of hope. My daughter is 4.5 and she had a stomach bug earlier this week. She spent the a.m. cuddled up next to me watching TV while I worked on my laptop; she sat with me while I ate lunch (and she picked at her toast); then she slept for 3 hours. It was by far the best sick-kid day to date.

SO as I was reading I followed your link, and you are a loving mom. The visual I got, or rather, oh never mind eww ewww eww.... And it's Inuit (not Eskimo). And also, Wonderbaby, oh so adorable, with a capital ADORABLE!

It's that time of year, I use to call it the September Snots when I was teaching Kindergarten!My daughter, 18 months, has had 2 colds in the past month--BRUTAL and up until now, she has been a pretty healthy little girl. Today, we went to the park, and I was the "bad mother", I forgot kleenex, how could I? I had to use my sleeve, ewwwww!!! The things we do as mothers...

I hope you're feeling better now. Funny thing for me is that I got sick ALL the time when I was breastfeeding. Haven't been sick once since then! Maybe it's because the monkey has been sleeping through the night?